Lakeland commission reviews City Manager Sean’s performance; praises communication, urges staff development and MMS enforcement

The Lakeland City Commission spent more than an hour on a public performance review of City Manager Sean, praising improvements in communication and stakeholder engagement while urging the manager and staff to expand frontline training, clarify infrastructure planning and enforce the city’s Minimum Maintenance Standards.

Commissioners said Sean has been more responsive and visible over the past year, citing phone calls, texts and emails. “If I have ever… needed something from Sean, I’ve been able to get a telephone, a phone call… a text, and email,” Commissioner Mike Musick said, praising the manager’s availability.

The review committee format included one-on-one follow-ups and an executive coach who worked with the commission and the manager. Sean said he has taken the evaluation seriously and that coaching has changed how he approaches staff and stakeholders: “I take this extremely seriously… I lose sleep. I shed tears,” he said, describing the weight of decisions the office requires.

Commissioners highlighted specific strengths and remaining priorities. Commissioner Madden pointed to Sean’s negotiating work — from hospital lease discussions to union talks and the Lake Bonney project — saying, “You get in the messy middle and you figure it out,” and credited that skill with advancing projects for the city.

Several commissioners pressed for more attention to the city’s Minimum Maintenance Standards. “It’s actually ordinance 4131 by Ralph Buddy Fletcher 2011,” Commissioner Lalonde noted, and asked for stronger, more consistent enforcement along commercial corridors such as Memorial Boulevard to reduce visible blight and support local businesses.

Training and succession planning for frontline employees was a recurring request. Commissioners said recent hiring of capable department heads is positive, but they want deeper development programs for line staff so the city has a bench of future supervisors. Sean acknowledged the gap and said he has requested expanded frontline training and will prioritize programs before pursuing additional supervisory-only training.

Infrastructure planning and capital asset management also surfaced. Commissioners and the manager agreed to consolidate multiple planning documents into a more usable 25-year roadmap so the commission can prioritize projects and budget requests. Sean described an intent to hire or engage a consultant to consolidate existing plans held across departments and facilities.

The commission praised this year’s strategic planning and budget workshop as substantive and better organized than in past years, and several members urged keeping that momentum in upcoming budget work.

Commissioners also raised communications and crisis messaging. Commissioner Madden suggested periodic media- or crisis-communications coaching for elected officials and staff to provide clear interim messages during high-profile incidents.

Next steps and direction: Mayor Buckhorn said the commission will place an item on its next meeting agenda to consider a compensation merit increase. The mayor also said a three-member committee will review the city manager and city attorney contracts and bring recommendations back to the full commission. The manager’s executive-coaching contract runs through June and staff said the coaching cadence has been every other week with additional touchpoints as needed.

The discussion mixed evaluation scores and anecdotal feedback with concrete follow-ups. Commissioners concluded the review by reaffirming support for the manager’s continued work on stakeholder relationships, expanded frontline training, infrastructure planning, and enforcement of the Minimum Maintenance Standards.